2020 Maine & NH Ducks

[Pine-lock]

My 10 year old has been bitten by the hunting, fishing and just about anything outdoors bug pretty bad. This year I took him out on youth duck day in Maine for an afternoon hunt on a pond that we've done a little fishing at and have typically seen ducks on. When we first showed up the water was so low even getting the canoe in was tricky due to some deep mud. We paddled the shore and saw a couple teal tucked in by some downed trees. He got his gun up as we floated within range and ended up missing them, most likely due to bad coaching on my part. On the shot multiple birds from all over the pond took flight and to make a long story short some made the bad decision of circling right over our boat. He was able to knock one down and after a tricky and muddy retrieval could not have been more proud.

Last weekend I took him out with a friend of ours in NH. We ended up cold and very wet but were able to come home with a few ducks. Woodies this time. They were a little to quick for him to shoot but I was able to take a few home. I'll see about getting some pictures up.

 

[Pine-lock]

 

[mowbizz]

I had duck hunting fever back in the day! I was lucky enough to be invited by some old timers in Canada that hunted the huge marshes of The St Lawrence near Trois Riveries.
It was classic mallard and black duck hunting from a blind that was used from year to year by the same men. My 1st wife was from Canada and it was her uncle that invited me.
Like a yong man's dream come true, from the classic blind, homemade flat bottom boat and riverside camp complete with hot Walleye (dory was the french name) chowder not to mention the beautiful blacks and mallards...quite a thrill motoring through the tall marsh grasses on paths only known to the men that hunted there. Never forget it.

 

[benny8]

Great job Dad! I too got bit by the waterfowling bug back in 2007. This was after a trip to Missouri with my brother to hunt waterfowl. The weekend we got back, we witnessed a seldom seen phenomenon in our are: The Black Tornado. It was a cold December morning. We were in the mouth of brook that dumped into the river. Water was knee deep and we were setting decoys. My brother says he hears wings and we see a black mass flying up the river. Its still 10 minutes or better before shooting light. Then we hear the sound of wings, hundreds of wings! Fat mallards start dropping into the hole we are standing in. We jump onto the bank and watch the show. A tornado of fat mallards are circling the hole. Looking up we can see them bumping into one another trying to get into the small hole. Look at my watch and we still have 3 minutes until legal. The dog is going ballistic, like "shoot'em you idiots!". There were so many ducks in this hole you couldn't tell ducks from the decoys. Then in a matter of seconds, they all lifted off and flew across the river to a cut corn field. Never fired a shot. As soon as they left, the alarm went off to signal legal shooting time. What a sight! I've also made my own decoys, made my own layout boats and refurbished an old StarCraft boat to brand new as a duck hunting/fishing boat. Trained my own labs to retrieve. Duck hunting was a blast when I had my brother going with me every weekend. Now, he's 44, and been hit with a form of arthritis and auto immune disease, he can no longer partake. Those were good times! Looks to me like you got yourself a hunting buddy for life! Stay safe and good luck to you guys!

 

[Pine-lock]

Great stories!^^

Looks like we're going to give it another go in Maine this weekend for ducks. It's youth weekend for deer too so I think we're in for a busy day.

We also have a crew of guys coming to camp to bird hunt and scout and sight in rifles and stack some wood before deer camp in a few weeks.

 

[benny8]

Good Luck!

 

[longbow]

Looks like fun! Great times spent together.

 

[Pine-lock]

Ended up seeing a bunch of ducks and getting some shots but none came home with us. Still a fun morning.

We flushed a dozen grouse and a handful of woodcock later in the day. Tough shooting conditions in the woods with lots of leaves still up.

 

[SierraValleyLabs]

That's great. Keeping our hunting traditions alive for the next generation. We volunteer with the state fish and game to guide new kids on planted pheasant hunts with our dogs.

 

[Pine-lock]

Took a break from chasing deer to go after some ducks last weekend. Not tons of action but my son was able to get a few. He also picked up a grouse later in the day.

 

[silver belly62]

Use to duck hunt a lot, some great times. How does he like that SX4 shotgun ?

 

[Pine-lock]

Use to duck hunt a lot, some great times. How does he like that SX4 shotgun ?

He loves it!

I've had him shooting for a while. Starting at 5 with his own savage Rascal 22 and soon after a pump .410. At 7 or 8 he showed interest in trying his hand at turkey hunting after tagging along with me and his uncles for a few hunts. So I upgraded him to a 20ga Mossberg 500 bantam with a red dot. He had a few years of close calls but no turkeys to show for it. I had him shooting 2 3/4 #6 pheasant loads to try an keep the recoil down but it also kept the effective range down. The last couple seasons he's really gotten the hunting bug and the 20 GA cost him a couple birds because they just wouldn't close the distance. It was really a 30 yard, absolute max gun. Lucky for him Uncle Shooterbuck likes him and bought him the compact SX4 12ga. it's a touch big for him right now but he does well with it. He's lugged it around for ducks and grouse and shot plenty of clays with it so far. We'll get him set up for turkeys again this spring and I think they'll be in for it.

It was actually such a nice gun that Shooterbuck and myself picked up ones of our own. Easy to strip and clean. No issues with feeding or cycling any ammo so far. They go bang when you pull the trigger and shoot better than I can. They run in the $700-1K range depending on finish and options, a deal compared to the "B" guns and even the Remington versamax.

 

[silver belly62]

Good to hear, I had briefly looked at them early last year and was thinking about getting one but ended up getting a Beretta Outlander instead.